zalaben

Hi , I have not posted here in quite a while but now I am in dire need of some advise.

To give you some background, I was born in London, UK to Canadian parents so have dual citizenship. I lived the first 5 years of my life in London and then returned during my teenage years. I officially left When i was 18 and have been living in Canada ever since.

I return to the UK from time to time and have never taken out medical insurance as I was told by the Quebec medicare that this was unecessary as I am a citizen. My British friend here told me the same thing .

well, in July of this year I returned with my 8 year old son. During a party, he fell through a glass table and opened up his knee cap and slashed his thigh very deeply. As a result, he needed to be hospitalized and operated on as the glass was very deep. He stayed overnight and was discharged the following afternoon.( SUPERB CARE I MIGHT ADD AFTER HEARING ALL THE HORROR STORIES OF THE NHS. )

Now, I know that I have an NHS number as I used it many years ago , but the computer cant trace me. My son is a british citizen through me but he does not hold a British passport ( although i can get him one).

The bill comes up to over 1,000 quid and as a single mom, i really cant pay it. The hospital is being very nice and has understood my situation up to now.HOWEVER, they sent me an Email today saying that they are going to forward my file to debt collections and the possibility of me ever having entry into the UK will be comprimized.

I cant believe that as a british citizen there isnt something I can do . My brother who lives in London told me to just ignore them but I dont want to be denied access into my own Country. Does any one have any advise for me ?? I dont want to be thaught of of not paying my bills but I really cant afford to pay it. Surely, i can get coverage SOMEWHERE.....

Not sure where to turn.. thank you

iaink

There is nothing you can do if you have already discussed this with the Local UK health authority. Im British, with a passport, NHS and NI numbers and everything, but as Im not normally resident in the UK I am not legally covered by the NHS, I imagine you and your child are in the same boat. The NHS number would really prove nothing about your resident status, in fact its inactivity only proves the opposite.

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/...rom_abroad.htm
You were misinformed Im afraid and will have to come to some arrangement to pay the bill.


Treatment in emergency would normally be free, but if the patient was admitted all bets are off.

If you were an ontario resident then there is perhaps some recourse to OHIP covering some of the bill, but its probably not enough to cover all of it, up to $200 or $400 a day with conditions attached...but thats only if you still meet OHIP residency requirements...
http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/...ip/travel.html

You should check if Quebecs system works the same way.

I not at all sure what you are talking about in terms of "coverage"...no one will insure now for that preexisting condition, but this outstanding bill will affect your credit worthiness, not your insurability for future events I would think.

daft batty

Sorry but access to the NHS is on residency not citizenship, you were given the wrong information. Perhaps if you offer to pay in installments? I think you cant get $100 from the quebec scheme to cover the inpatient portion

http://www.university.ca/eng/canadai...ebechealth.htm

Wearsider

It is highly unlikely that the debt you owe will be chased up in Canada and will not affect your credit rating there, although if a summons is issued for you in the UK you are likely to be arrested when you return to the UK (I think).

Just say that you are a persistant law breaker with a heroin habit and you will not only escape paying your fees, but you may also be rewarded with an all expenses paid trip to Barbados to help you get over the trauma of being subject to social deprivation in your childhood!

Biiiiink

According to this BE article, if a CCJ is issued against her in the UK, the OP can be chased for the debt in Canada --> http://britishexpats.com/articles/fi...moving-abroad/

I'd keep the dialogue going to avoid that, and offer to pay in instalments if it was me.

Wearsider

Although possible, the costs involved chasing up debt in Canada would make this unlikely.

I would still try the persistant offender route first!

Biiiiink

I don't know that the costs would be that great - it would be as simple as passing her details on to a Canadian collection company who would probably only get a fee if they were successful... it'd be worth a try for them.

I'm still not clear on the regs anyway, these pages say there are circumstances that a non-resident/their dependents can get free treatment if they meet certain rules. I don't know if any of it applies in this case but since you're eligible from the moment you return, if she'd said "I'm returning" it would have been free.

I know lots of people who've had treatment they had no right to, they were never asked anything. I guess if your kid's got a non-UK accent they'll probe deeper.

dingbat

Chasing a debtor in Canada is very easy and very cheap when you are paying with sterling. I'd advise the OP to make arrangements to pay the debt at £10 a month or something. The only hitch with that is the cost of money drafts each month, unless she has a UK bank account she can arrange a Direct Debit from.

iaink

This is the list of countries with bilateral agreements
http://www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidan...480&chk=gj/4gG
Canada is not on it, so if you live in Canada and use the NHS while visiting the UK, you are gonna have to pay for it once they figure that out.

The exception is for emergency department treatment only, up to the point you are admitted as an inpatient.

The moral of the story seems to be to get travel insurance if you arent paying for the trip with a credit card that includes that as part of the service.



Once a debt collection agency is after you, it will impact your FICO credit score, possibly for as long as seven years! http://www.myfico.com/CreditEducatio...YourScore.aspx

zalaben

hi and thank you for all the advise. looks like i am going to have to pay this bill if i ever want to return to the UK. I have never had a criminal record and dont intend on having one now so i have learnt a good lesson and that is .. never take a hyperactive child on vacation ..atleast without proper medical insurance even if i was under the impression that i was covered....

i will pay the bill in installments and i so doing contribute to the Queen`s social calendar i imagine.

iaink

.....or alternatively at least cover the expenses incured by the NHS/ UK taxpayer

daft batty

I doubt the Queen will benefit! I admire your determination to pay your debt ( there's plenty out there who woudlnt have taken such an honest approach) and learning from an expensive mistake. Good luck to you.

zalaben

just joking of course! reading a joke is not the same as saying it i suppose. i happen to love the queen anyway.

montreal mike

Well this is news to me. I was in the UK in 1999 for some 6 months and I didn't bother buying extra insurance since I was told I had a UK passport so I was automatically covered. Not to worry.

The only problem I had then was that I had a build up of wax in one ear and a doctor at a local hospital took care of it. I simply showed them my passport, gave them my temporary English address (my sister's place).

So to read this now is a nasty suprise. Basically it seems I wasn't covered unless the law has changed since. It is unlilkely at my age that I will ever return to the UK but if ever I visit again at least I now know better

zalaben

according to several posters it seems you are OK when you are treated in emergency . It is a different story once you are admitted. also, like someone said, we have canadian accents and my son has a french-canadian accent when he speaks english . if he had spoken like the locals , it might have been different. i used to have a british accent but lost it years ago. Do you have an english acccent?anyway, i am going to pay the bill and not return to the UK until every penny is paid. dont fancy being arrested at the airport thank you. ps moving back to montreal in july (n.d.g.) and will be getting rid of my red ski jacket before i do:scared: